Chapter 6

Mimi’s turn:

I spent my last night in the shelter after doing burgers with Tommy. The next morning I announced my departure.

Got the expected looks and words of concern.

“Look, y’all have been great,” I said. “I had nothing. You took me in. Helped. I think the group sessions helped me see some things. I understand life better.”

“Where are you going, again, dear?” the matronly lady asked.

“3Sigma Engineering has four female employees with toddlers. They wanted a daycare program. That’s me. They’re going to pay me and part of the package is that I can share an apartment with another employee. So a job AND a place to live...”

“Extremely fortunate,” she said. “You said they’re here in Auburn?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“DO keep in touch, Mikayla. Very few do, but I’d appreciate seeing you again, especially if you bring good news.”

“I will do that.”

Looming over me was Tommy, carrying a big box with most of my earthly belongings. The rest were in a duffel bag at my feet.

We walked out to his SUV. Together. All I had to do was ask if he’d help.

“Cindy gave me your new keys. They’ll get you in the door.”

“What about this ‘Cammie’? Do you know her?” I asked.

“Oh, she’s nice. Has an on again – off again boyfriend. I think she spends the night at his apartment sometimes. Keeps prying eyes from noting his itinerary. Or hers.”

“Oh. They care?”

“People are always noticing things, baby,” he said.

“So they see you and me...”

“I’m sure they do. So what?”

“I’m ... not up to the standard...”

“That’s in your head, darlin’. Nobody has a checklist that I know about, and if somebody did, they either rate you high, or I don’t want to deal with ‘em. You and me, we do well.”

“I guess ... I mean, I just told a bunch of ‘em that I was a whore...”

“And one of ‘em was Mizz Donna, right?”

“Yeah.”

“You know part of her story. Did the others distance themselves from her?”

“Well, no...”

“They will accord you the same grace, dear.”

“Tommy, If you keep using pet names on me like that...”

“Mimi, when I use pet names on you, it’s because I feel like using them.”

“Why?”

“Because I think of you as more than a rescue. Friend. More.”

“More?”

“More.”

“Like?”

“Mimi, you’re special to me, okay...” He seemed flustered.

I reached over and patted his arm. It’s a good arm. Not overtly muscular, but muscular. Tommy’s a healthy man. I wonder what he does to keep that going.

I also know that I’m not going to rush off into something with him. I don’t think either of us is ready, but like he said – Friend. More. And right now, I think it’s great.

He helps me move my stuff into the apartment. There’s the empty bedroom that will be MY room. I scan the apartment. It’s nice. Very nice. Clean. Organized. At least I won’t be living with a slob. It would be nice if she was compatible as a friend, not mandatory, but nice.

The girl who shared my room at the shelter was NOT somebody I wanted to spend a lot of time around. Fortunately I could catch a spot in the common room at the shelter, curl up with a book, watch whatever was on TV with one eye. Some of the crap they watched, some of the conversations ... well, I put up with that, this CAN’T be that bad. Has to be better than what I’ve had.

Next on the agenda was to go to the 3Sigma office and formalize my employment. Everybody knows Tommy. That’s a plus. They smile at the two of us. That’s a plus. A nice lady, dark-haired, middle aged, takes me from Tommy.

“I’m Rebekah Weismann. You’re Mikayla Gundresen. Mimi, right?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I’m Beck. Rachel’s my daughter. I’m the manager of administration. Let me introduce you to the HR person.”

The person she introduced me to was Amy Morgan. I did a quick scan. Maybe thirty, five feet and a bit, plump, brown-headed, with curl. Brown eyes. And a smile.

“C’mon, Mimi,” she said. “My office. We got paperwork.”

I have my driver’s license and my social security card. I can get a birth certificate if I need it, but after an hour of filling out forms, both paper and on a computer, she smiles. “There! You’re official! So Beck says you’re gonna take care of the babies?”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said.

“Oh, stop the ‘ma’am’ thing. You just heard me call my boss by her first name. This place is really not about hierarchy.”

“Okay. I’m learning.”

“Speaking of learning, Beck says that you’re going to work on your GED?”

“Cindy says I will get my GED.”

She smiled. “Oh, yes ... Little Mizz ‘doctorate before age eighteen’ herself. You’re in the hands of some of the top minds in this town and this is a university town.”

“I’ve been told that’s a good thing.”

“It is. Mimi, this isn’t my first job. I’ve been working, either part time or full time, since I was seventeen. Let me tell you something. THIS is the place to be. They value PEOPLE. That’s nice, you know, but they not only value people, but they treat you like you’re part of a family, and come Christmas ... First time I ever got a bonus. Nice little check. And then at the end of the first quarter AFTER that, when they finalized the financial numbers for the year, they threw a party and handed out little slips of paper with a REAL bonus ... My husband liked to have passed out. Month’s salary.”

“And you’ve been here...”

“Two years, almost. I do all the HR. Beck and I collaborate on the insurance and benefits, because Beck also takes care of our accounting people up the hall. It’s nuts. I get to BE what I trained to be, and they LET me ... Encourage me.”

“But I’m a babysitter.”

“Hon,” she grinned, “those ain’t your standard rug rats. And if they just up and chose you, somebody saw something...”

“Cindy,” I said. “I think it was Cindy.”

“You hang around here very long and you’ll hear ‘Cindy said... ‘ a lot. And it’s GOOD stuff. C’mon. Let’s go introduce you around.”

Like I was somebody.

I met Beck in the hall.

“You don’t have a car yet, right?”

“Right,” I said. “Gotta get my feet on the ground. Tommy’s been most of my transportation lately.”

“He’s a good one,” she said. “We can call ‘im. He’s probably over at the robotics shop. Or I could take you over...” she looked at her phone. “To Susan’s. I guess that’s where you start.”

“I need a car. Or a bicycle...”

“Well, you live in the apartments, you work at the neighborhood ... It’s too far to walk,” she said. “We’ll figure out something ... Somebody will, I’m sure.”

“You’re optimistic,” I said.

“You’ll get that way. Let me get my keys. I’ll tell you about how I was introduced to all this...”

The ride from the office to the community’s subdivision gave Beck time to give me a window into the early days of the community’s founding. I thought it sounded almost like she should have started ‘Once upon a time... ‘ I mean, I’m eighteen. I can imagine Beck’s shock at finding out her neighbor was a married fourteen year old. But now Cindy’s almost nineteen and she acts like there’s no age at all in her life.

That’s one thing to think about. I have a lot of things to think about. Beck drops me off and I knock on Susan’s door.

It pops open after a small delay. “Come in,” Susan said with a smile.

“Mimi,” little JW said.

“Hey, sweetie,” I replied to him. “You gonna stay with me while Mom goes to work?”

“Wheah Katty? Wheah Leese?”

“You’re gonna get three out of four today. Stoney and Jo are down in Mobile. Well, probably out sailing.”

“They have a sailboat?”

“Yeah,” Susan said, smiling. “It plays prominently in the story of their romance.”

“A sailboat,” I sighed. “Used to see ‘em sailing, always wanted...”

“Tell ‘em that. Several of us have been out with ‘em.”

“I’d feel like a fifth wheel...”

“Take Tommy with you,” she retorted.

“Uh ... Tommy...”

“Oh, you two aren’t a thing?”

“He’s my friend.”

“So you go on a sailing jaunt with a friend. Nothing wrong with that.”

“I guess not.”

“Lemme show you where everything’s at. The other two should show up any minute. They’re bringing pizza for lunch.”

“Great,” I said. “I can do pizza.”

“Be careful if Jo or Stoney bring it. They like anchovies.”

“Ewww.”

“She says it’s genetic – her Norwegian roots.”

“Norwegian?”

“Her dad is. Mom’s Irish. You hang around here long, you’ll meet ‘em. They’re good people.”

“Susan, y’all treat me like...”

“Family? Isn’t that better than a second-class minion? The hired help?”

“Well, yeah but...”

“Relax. Today’s your trial run. If you live through four hours and you still want the job...”

“I already moved in. Beck’s got me on the payroll...”

“As it should be, Mimi, if this is what you want to do. They kinda built this company because they got tired of the bureaucracy and the make-work. If we need something, we make it happen.”

“It’s not always like this?” I asked. I really didn’t know. I’ve never had a real job.

“Oh, no,” Susan said. “Resume’, interview, testing, background checks, selection process ... Even for a stupid bagger job at a grocery store. This – we – are different.”

“I see that more and more. Tommy told me stuff, but you know how men can be...” I said. Susan’s got a pretty face. Expressive.

“Believe me. I do know,” she said. “I dated a bunch before Jason. He’s different. Most of the guys in the community are different. Now, when you get into the business, some of those, well, closer to normal...”